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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. wax — in the ear
  3. field — for sport
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. charge — a price
  6. wax — to grow
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. charge — electricity
  9. deal — to handle
  10. charge — in control
  11. shower — rain
  12. bore — to drill
  13. field — farmland
  14. kid — to tease
  15. kid — child
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cap — a lid
  22. field — a subject
  23. cap — a hat
  24. bore — to tire

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com